


We're Just...

by Processpending



Category: Prodigal Son (TV 2019)
Genre: Angst, Brightwell, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Evetual Brightwell, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Hurt Malcolm Bright, Hurt/Comfort, Major Character Injury, Physical Therapy, Whump
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-02
Updated: 2020-04-30
Packaged: 2021-02-28 06:35:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 15,904
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22529464
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Processpending/pseuds/Processpending
Summary: Dani and Malcolm were...something. When Malcolm gets shot protecting Dani things between them only get more difficult to define. Over long weeks of physical therapy as Malcolm learns to walk again, secrets aren't shared and when the time comes, Malcolm finds it's possible to break more than he already is.“We’re just…” He’d bitten back the words he wanted to say. That they were dating, that he considered her his girlfriend. But he knew Dani wasn’t ready for heavy words, labels that lay claim. He wasn’t ready. Ready to put into words what he wanted; to be hers. Labels were dangerous, they were made to be removed, to change, to be found wrong. If she was never his, then he could never lose her.
Relationships: Gil Arroyo & Malcolm Bright, Malcolm Bright & JT Tarmel, Malcolm Bright/Dani Powell
Comments: 60
Kudos: 209





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> It's Superbowl!  
> I'm more of a Puppy Bowl watcher which means that I'll be reading fics and waiting for the new Prodigal Son promos between commercials.

Malcolm wasn’t surprised when he ran into Dani at the club, he was only disappointed she hadn’t asked him to join. 

“Come here often?” She looked amazing and Malcolm wished they really had come together, it would mean that he’d gotten up the courage to ask her out properly and that she’d, for whatever reason, agreed. But that wasn’t his life and so he finds himself in a club with a beautiful girl, profiling a window. 

He knows something’s wrong the minute they step into the room and Estime excuses everyone else, his tells broadcasting so loud Malcolm can hardly hear the music over all the secrets failing to be concealed. 

The shots cut through the rhythmic beat, the screams quickly following. 

“Get down!” Malcolm lunges for Dani as glass walls explode around them, white hot pain blooming in his back. 

“Bright. Stay with me. Malcolm, come on, you can’t sleep now. Look at me. _Look at me_.” Malcolm frowns up at Dani, his heart racing faster and faster, his mind moving too fast for him to choose just one thought to focus on but he keeps returning to one: _Why is it raining inside?_ He can feel the drops on his cheeks and the puddle forming below him and…”Dani, you’re raining.” 

He reaches up toward her, fascinated by the colored raindrops that keep falling from her, frowning when his thumb leaves dark smudges in their wake. He laughs, “Thunderclouds.” 

“Malcolm, please. _I need an ambulance!_ ” She screams through the broken window, praying someone, anyone, just one, has the decency to call. Dani feels his blood slick on the floor slick beneath her knees, the drugs pumping his blood faster and faster right out of him.

o~O~o

“What the hell were you thinking?” Gil doesn’t care that they’re in a hospital, that Dani looks to be wearing elbow length gloves, but really it’s his kid’s blood. 

“I knew that Estime would talk to me.” Dani starts, she though she doesn’t know why she bothers. She couldn’t care less about their case, that Estime got away, that she tipped off who knows how many people, but she knew Gil needed this. Needed to focus on how he could help his kid. "I made a call." Dani takes a steadying breath, the events of the night flashing before her eyes. "I knew Estime would talk to me," She didn't have to explain her history to Gil, he'd been there for the fallout, had gotten her back on track. 

"Bright, he...he called it a bad-guy window. He _knew._ He knew something was going to happen and still he-" Dani swallows thickly, the tears choking her as she doubles over in the plastic chair. “I made a...call.” 

The anger leaves Gil, Malcolm was trying to get himself killed by someone else's hand, and if he happened to save someone he cared about in the process, well then all the better.

"Only he could profile a window." Gil eases his body onto the hard plastic chair next to her, suddenly feeling much older than his age. "You did good. They got him." Gil stops there, he doesn't really know anything beyond they have Malcolm in surgery, a surgery that will take hours. So he puts his arm around her and pulls her close, not caring about the dried blood flaking onto them.

Which is how Jessica finds them, " _Gil_." Gil knows that voice before he even looks up, knows what the fear in her eyes will look like and how she'll feel when she falls apart in his arms. He knows all this and still he stands, gently pulling away from Dani.

Gil’s longer strides outmatch Jessica’s pace, meeting her halfway across the room. "He's fine," His hands come up, cupping her cheeks, she leans back out of instinct, it's been years since...but then she's settling into his touch and Dani looks away, feeling like she's encroaching on a private moment even as Gil moves his hands down to rest on her shoulders.

"He's in surgery but the doctor's say he's doing good." Grey eyes peer up into his, searching for all the things he can't put into words, for all the things that won't _fit_ into words. "He was working a case, he was shot in the back, they have him in surgery now." She drinks in every word, adding another stone to the bag tied around her ankle, the one that's been threatening to drown her for years.

Jessica's eyes flicker to Dani, taking in the dress that was once gold, now stained with her son's blood. 

"Dani, why don't you go get yourself cleaned up."Gil doesn't mean it to sound like he's dismissing her, but sitting there covered in blood isn't good for her, mentally or otherwise. He knows she's going to protest, or head to the nearest bathroom and rub her skin raw with their rough paper towels.

" _Dani_." Jessica narrows her eyes, studying the woman before her. Malcolm had mentioned her the few times he talked about work, her name coming up when he _wasn’t_ talking about work as well. "Have my driver take you home," Dani's head snaps up at that, protests falling from her lips.

 _He's_ talked _about you._

"He'll bring you back when you're ready."

_He cares about you._

“Really, Mrs. Whitly, it's fine. I can-" Gil sees the same look in Jessica's eyes that he sees in Malcolm's, she's weighing the words she will use.

"You love him." Those words bring Dani up short but the lack of protest says enough. She had a feeling Bright liked her. Gil had her babysit a drugged Malcolm more than once and the careful words he kept inside always seemed to come spilling out. The soft admittance that he'd never had friends, then the almost desperate cling to that newfound friendship through tea. Malcolm had understood she had guarded herself too long and that the little bit she had convinced herself to give him was enough of a start. 

They’d been on several outings but had yet to make it official; to go to HR and fill out the paperwork. To tell Gil. Neither were the most stable when it came to family, relationships or history, so they were taking it one awkward interaction at a time. Hungry mouths and wandering hands, dinners and shows and adventures that sometimes worked out and sometimes didn’t. 

"I know that look." Jessica had taken her measure and while she may not be organizing a wedding, she can give her son this.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gil is down the hall, Dani's name still ringing in his ears. He passes nurses and he knows the alarms must have sounded. "No sedatives." His lieutenant tone slips out, a command that was meant as a plea, but it doesn't matter as they continue towards the room and the battle within.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You all are rockstars! I've gotten so many kudos and wonderful comments it was a real struggle to not upload this chapter earlier in the week.

Dani had taken a patrol shower, lightning quick and with a scrubbing that left her skin tingling. It’s only when she’s already back in Jessica’s car does she realize she’d pulled on her comfort clothes. Her jeans worn soft from washings and the oversized hoodie came from Gil years ago, back when her undercover had gone sideways. She wasn't sure if he'd meant for her to keep it but it was large and warm and soothing. 

Jessica's words play over and over in her head, _You love him._ The more she played it the more it felt like an accusation. Dani hadn't wanted to name this feeling, had been forcing her mind to avert labeling the feeling being around him gave her. He was good and kind and had enough issues, he didn't need hers as well. 

She tried not to think about Eve and how Jessica had tried to set them up together. Part of Dani tries to rationalize that was right when they first met, but that just leaves her more hollow; she definitely didn’t fit into Malcolm’s world.

That day still haunted her, him crouched, collecting files from the floor, wide blue eyes peering up at her, _The problem is me and I can't be fixed_. 

_I don't think you are._ Five simple words that she hadn't realized had been true until she'd spoken them. She'd never viewed him as broken, never saw him as anything but strong. He'd fought so damn hard to be anything other than his father's son. 

"Miss?" Dani hadn't realized they'd already made it back to the hospital, the driver waiting at her door. She leaves her thanks and darts inside only to find the waiting room empty. Her heart stutters as she tries to convince herself that he could just be out of surgery, that they took him to a room, that-

"Dani?" Gil's hand is on her shoulder, seeing the panic in her eyes he pulls her to his chest, holding her up. "I was just getting coffee. Jess is in the waiting room." Dani's shoulders slump in relief as she realizes she was just on the wrong floor; she'd headed back to the emergency waiting room, not up to the surgical floor.

She nods, the relief overwhelming the foolishness. "Update?" She lets Gil lead her to the elevator. 

"Not yet. Should hopefully get one soon." He offers her a cup and even though she has no intent of drinking it, the warmth feels good, having something to hold feels good.

Hours pass. 

Gil is between Jessica and Dani, the two woman remarkably similar in how they handle stress; they will remain strong until there is a damn good reason to break. Jessica's intermittent pacing is the only outward sign she allows herself, Dani and Gil find solace in watching her. 

"Family of Bright?" Jessica whirls at the name and Gil's on his feet and moving before he can think better of it. The doctor looks between them, gaze flicking to Dani and JT who have also risen, unsure.

" _Well_?" Jessica pins the doctor with an expectant look.

"He's out of surgery. We were able to stop the bleeding and relieve some of the pressure." Jessica nods, more that she's heard the words rather than fully understood. She won't understand anything until she sees her son.

"We won’t be able to tell the extent of the damage until he wakes up." Jessica’s eyes flutter closed, remaining that way for a long moment as she processes what that means. 

“Anything else?” Nothing with Malcolm is ever this simple.

"He's in recovery and should be waking up soon. We allow two people in recovery if you'd like to sit with him, I'm sure he'll be a little out of it."

"He needs to be restrained. How long has he been out?" The rapid questions from Jessica startle the doctor. 

"That's really not-"

"He has night terrors. There should be a note in his chart. He needs to be able to wake up and if he's under anesthesia he'll likely be...agitated." Gil steps in, Jessica giving him a grateful look.

"Ok, I can see about having those put on. If you want to see him he's in recovery room three.” Jessica catches Gil's hand, leaving no question as to who will be going back; he smiles softly at the gesture.

It's easy enough to find the room, though what they find inside is anything but. Malcolm looks so small in the bed, so pale from the blood loss it would be easy to lose him among the sheets. 

Jessica steps right up to the bed, hand hovering over his, fearful to jostle the many tubes tethering him. He'd always been reckless, always willing to put himself in harms way, seeking any form of retribution he could for his father's actions, as though spilling his own blood would drown The Surgeon's. Jessica takes to smoothing back his hair, a gesture that comforted him when he was little. 

When the doctor appears with the restraints Jessica holds out her hand, unable to bear watching someone else chain her son's demons. Gil takes the other and together they fasten his wrists to the bed rails, neither saying the bruises they know these will cause should he fight, the little padding they provide.

"Ainsley?" Gil felt ashamed that it wasn't until an hour after Jessica arrived that he thought to ask about her absence. Jessica had insisted on waiting to tell her, she would let her know when there was something to tell. The last thing she needed was her panicking in the waiting room.

"I'll call her." Malcolm had always been so careful to protect Ainsley, to try and keep the worst of his terrors from her. Yes, she knew _of_ them, it was hard not to, but Malcolm strived to keep her from experiencing them; his demons were his own.

"You were always resourceful." Jessica muses. "He didn't tell me he'd applied to Quantico until _after_ he'd been accepted." Gil smiles, that was a very Bright thing to do. "We fought. Oh, we fought. I told him he couldn't atone for Martin’s deeds. That getting himself killed wouldn't bring those girls back." Jessica takes a steadying breath. His tremors had started with a force that night, so hard even Malcolm couldn't quell them.

"I told him the same thing." Jessica looks at Gil in surprise. "After the snake bite incident," He realizes his mistake too late when Jessica's brow furrows, "I told him I knew what he was doing. That he needed to stop throwing himself into dangerous situations, that they weren't a substitute for..." Jessica knows when Gil is referring to, the years they had struggled to keep Malcolm from doing more serious harm to himself. When he'd gone to live with Gil and Jackie, the person who finally got him to break his months long silence after Martin was arrested and finally pulled him back from that dangerous place.

Jessica remains next to his bed, fingers carding through his hair, waiting for any sign that he would be coming back to them soon, Gil at her side. 

o~O~o

Malcolm knew how this played out, what he would find when he opened the trunk lid.

But this time the nightmare was different.

The box opened and Dani was curled inside, body riddled with bullets, the trunk filling with her blood. Drowning her. Overflowing. 

His wrists twist in the restraints, fingers clenching, “Malcolm, Malcolm. It’s ok, you’re safe.” Jessica keeps her tone even, it’d been years since she’d been present for one of his night terrors and she wasn’t sure if what worked when he was young would have any impact now. 

"No, no nuh...nnn...oo.” Jessica doesn’t raise her voice, just leans closer, ready to rear back, knowing how Malcolm can be even when he is restrained.

" _D_ _ani!"_ Malcolm fights the restraints, arms yanking but making no progress, he starts twisting his legs, head jerking from side to side. Jessica leans over the bed rails, calling his name, pleading with him, trying to pull him from the nightmares to no avail.

Gil is down the hall, Dani's name still ringing in his ears. He passes nurses and he knows the alarms must have sounded. "No sedatives." His lieutenant tone slips out, a command that was meant as a plea, but it doesn't matter as they continue towards the room and the battle within.

"Dani." She's on her feet, her heart sinking as she knows what she'll find without him having to say it. She's down the hall, running, Gil right behind her, the room number called out to her but it wouldn't matter. The sound of his pleas, her name, torn from him echo down the hall, pulling not only her attention, as more nurses head for the room.

Malcolm is thrashing in the bed, two nurses work on keeping his legs in place, but she can already see blood blooming on the bandages as Jessica physically prevents a third nurse from administering a sedative by simply holding her ground.

Dani heads to the far side of the bed, unlocking the bedrail, fighting to unbuckle the restraint, his struggling making it that much harder. She forces herself to not glance up each time her name is called, she can only imagine what dark tricks his mind conjured. Gil is at her side, holding Malcolm's hand steady long enough for her to free him. No sooner has she loosened the strap then he's bolting up, nearly clipping her jaw, clinging to her with his free arm.

"Malcolm. Malcolm. I'm here," She doesn't see him wake, but knows when it happens, his fingertips digging into her back, pulling her close, burying his nose in the crook of her neck, breathing in the scent that is uniquely her. 

_"Dani_." The word is muffled and she feels his tears hot against her skin. As soon as Jessica frees his other hand he pulls Dani closer until she's practically sitting on the bed, her name whispered over and over, filling the room.

"I'm here, I'm ok. You saved me." She repeated those three reassurances each time he spoke her name until he tapered off, finally accepted that his terrors weren’t founded in experience. This time. His bruising grip eased until it was no longer painful but it was clear he had no intention of letting her go anytime soon. And neither did she. 

~o~O~o~

They have to rebandage Malcolm's leg, the nurses chiding him that he's lucky to have ripped only a few of his stitches. After his performance Dr. Sanders makes a large note on his chart, a bracelet noting it in all caps on his wrist, a sign at the foot of his bed and even goes so far as to have one laminated on fluorescent paper and hung on his IV pole: NO SEDATIVES. Malcolm grins and points it out to Dani the moment she steps into what will be his room for the duration of his stay, pleased.

Neither of them mention how long it took for Malcolm to finally calm down enough to release her, though she could never stray far, his hand trembling when she did. It’s a rare moment alone, his mother had disappeared somewhere and while he knows he should be more concerned with exactly what convinced her to leave, Dani in her comfort clothes is consuming his thoughts.

He holds out his hand to her, hating that he’s stuck in bed, a plea that she’ll come to him when he can’t go to her. He wants to keep her there, to thread their fingers together and tell her that whenever she was ready, however long it took, he would take her as his wife. He wants to see her dressed like this in his apartment, wake up to her sleepy and warm in his arms, have her tucked into his side on the couch, hands searching for her waist through the excess fabric. 

The motion jarred his leg and his arm wavered in the air, the pain clearing his thoughts, reminding him why those words would never leave the confines of his mind, why those dreams would remain just that. He was Whitly by birth, he could never give her the life she deserved. Free of pills and restraints.

Normalcy.

Stability.

“I can hear you thinking.” She tangles her fingers with his, letting him pull her until the edge of the bed presses into her thighs. Dani knew the look in Malcolm’s eyes, the doubt and guilt that was always waiting, ready to drag him back the moment he slipped. 

She nearly tells him there, blurts the words Jessica had so easily read on her and can’t help but wonder how Malcolm missed it. _If_ he missed it. She doesn’t say it though, she’s not one for bedside confessions or giving false hope. How can she tell him something she’s not entirely sure of herself.

“I think it may be your own thoughts echoing.” Malcolm frowns at his own words and Dani laughs, wondering what they’d given him for pain. The tremors stop, his fingers settling into stillness against hers.

“You shouldn’t have gone there.” Dani murmurs, eyes flashing guilt.

“You went there.” She flinches at the words. “I didn’t mean...I knew you were going to-” Malcolm cuts himself off, first blaming her and then admitting he profiled her.

“Thanks.” His eyes dart to hers as she squeezes his hand and his heart sinks, this is it, she’s saying her goodbyes. Shame washes over him as he thinks of his behavior, clinging to her, sobbing in her arms, making her feel like she had to stay. 

She doesn’t pull away. And Malcolm doesn’t know what to do with this.

“Mal-oh!” Ainsley didn’t expect to find anyone else in her brother’s room, especially not a woman holding his hand. Her smile instantly turned to one that made him nervous.

“Run.” The word is so soft Dani isn’t entirely sure Malcolm’s even said something but one look at his face has her choking back laughter. At least it was better than when he’d told her to pull out her gun at his mother’s party. 

“I’m Ainsley, Mal’s sister.” Ainsley drops her ridiculously expensive handbag into one of the hospital chairs, not even trying to hide the fact that she’s looking Dani over, though Malcolm is relieved she looks more intrigued than judgemental.

“Dani.” Ainsley’s smile widens. 

“ _That_ Dani?” Heat blooms in Malcolm’s cheeks as Dani’s eyebrows shoot up. 

“We…” Malcolm falters, _work together_ , while true doesn’t exactly define whatever they’re doing, but neither does dating sound quite right and they haven’t even made it a _thing_ yet. 

“Were at the club together. He protected me.” Dani saves Malcolm, finding his unmistakable panicking adorable.

“You clubbing now, bro?” Malcolm lets out a weak laugh because of course that would be the part Ainsley focuses on. Though something tells him the minute they’re alone she’s going to have a lot more questions, none of which he’s going to want to answer. 

Jessica sweeps back in the room, taking in the trio she falters, not having expected Dani though she doesn’t know why she’s surprised. Behind Jessica Dr. Sanders files in with another doctor Malcolm doesn’t recognize, but if the look on his mother’s face is anything to go by she’s already talked to them. 

“Mr. Bright, this is Dr. Dovel. He’ll be working with you on your physical therapy.” The doctor offers his hand and Dani thinks she feels the slightest hesitation as he pulls his hand from hers in order to greet the doctor. 

“Dani, why don’t we get some coffee.” Gil is right inside the door, having slipped in so silently he’d been missed by the other occupants. Malcolm makes a noise that might be protest but Dani’s already stepping away, missing the way his hand twitches after her, the trembling starting back up as he fights the fear that claws inside him at her leaving. 

But they’re not _together_. Not as far as anyone knows, because they weren’t dating they were... _just._

_“What are we doing?” Dani’s words paused Malcolm’s lips where they were discovering what the curve of her collarbone felt like. He pulled back to meet her eyes, thinking how lovely she looked pressed against his wall with only the lights from the street to see by, revealing different parts of her with their movement as though to take all of her in at once would be too much. And for him, it might be._

_“We can...we don’t have to.” Malcolm stepped back, the pressure from his fingertips lingering even after he’s dropped his hands from her waist._

_“Yes. No. I.” Dani sighed, frustrated. “What are_ we _?” Malcolm searched her face, his profiling feeling more like a slot machine, ever changing and never matching. She felt foolish, asking, now. This wasn’t anywhere near their first date or the first time they’d gone back to his place._

 _“We’re just…” He’d bitten back the words he wanted to say. That they were dating, that he considered her his girlfriend. But he knew Dani wasn’t ready for heavy words, labels that lay claim._ He _wasn’t ready. Ready to put into words what he wanted; to be hers. Labels were dangerous, they were made to be removed, to change, to be found wrong. If she was never his, then he could never lose her._

 _“We’re_ just _.” She repeats the words but there’s a finality to them and when she pulls him back to her, when she takes him to bed that night it isn’t the tender tumbling like previously. They don’t spend hours in each others arms, exploring with mouths and fingers, mapping every curve and sensation._

_Malcolm realizes that it was after that night that something had changed. They still went on dates, if they could even be called that, still sought each other’s body, but to Malcolm it felt like he’d lost Dani. He missed the way she’d lay on her stomach, head resting on his chest so he could trail his fingers up and down her spine in lazy paths. The way she would hover over him, tickling him with her curls that he loved to gently tug and watch spring back up. He missed how she gently pressed a kiss to the scars where he’d taken a blade to himself, taking the shame from them._

So Dani follows Gil from the room and reminds herself that they’re not together, they’re _just._

o~O~o

Malcolm was admittedly distracted when Dr. Dovel started speaking. His mind kept straying to where Dani had gone, the box lingering in his periphery, taunting. But she was with Gil and if anyone would protect her it would be him. 

Still, the doctor's words couldn't hold his attention.

Malcolm tries to focus on what Dovel says, but the letters and numbers, the clinical descriptions of his injuries and what they had to do, reminds him too much of Martin. He doesn't mean to but he squeezes his eyes shut, bringing his hand up to rub his temple but it’s shaking too hard to complete the motion.

"What," Jessica's tone is sharp, cutting through the doctor's spiel. "Do we need to know to take him home?" Malcolm misses the affronted look on Dovel's face at Jessica's interruption.

"We'll keep him here for a few more days and start your PT. I want you up and walking, we'll increase the frequency. At home you'll have PT for a few hours each day."

"Work?" Malcolm drops his hand, grateful that Gil isn't here for this part, knowing whatever the doctor says he would take as a starting suggestion and add at least a week to it.

"Few weeks. We'll see how you're doing. No stairs or driving until you're released." Malcolm suddenly understands his mother’s look. It wasn’t what the doctor said so much as the battle she knew was coming once he found out. As though sensing the impending family confrontation the doctors make their exit, leaving Malcolm with the Whitlys. 

“Mother-” Malcolm starts, not entirely sure how he’s going to finish that sentence but it’s never stopped him from starting before and on more than one occasion he’s surprised himself by finishing it well. To her credit she waits, giving him the chance to protest but when none follows she smiles that predatory grin that makes Malcolm nervous.

#### o~O~o

"Only you could go to a night club and get yourself s-" Malcolm starts at the voice, biting down on the surprised yelp that threatens, he slams his hand down on the walker's arm instead, fighting for control. JT doesn't say anything, just waits for Malcolm to collect himself, setting his pace to match the profiler as they continue down the hall.

"Why are you here?" Malcolm doesn't stop, doesn't dare to take his eyes from the shuffling progress of his left leg, as though him looking at it is the only thing keeping it moving. The question isn't bitter, doesn't blame or accuse, it's just a simple question and something inside JT twists.

"A member of the team is in the hospital. Would've been here sooner but someone had to clean up the mess your sorry ass made." Malcolm's mouth twitches, though whether it's from being recognized as one of the team or the teasing JT isn't sure. Maybe both.

Malcolm keeps walking, the further they get the more pronounced the scuffing sound is as Malcolm struggles to lift his foot with each step. When he's all but dragging it, arms shaking as they try to hold his weight, JT whips in front of him, forcing him to stop. Malcolm won't raise his head, can't bear to look into JT's eyes and see the pity there, the mocking at how much more broken he is. 

"Malcolm." His head snaps up at that, the sound of his name from the detective's lips foreign. "Don't do this. It will take time, don't do more damage trying to force yourself to be better." Malcolm starts to protest all the ways he's wrong, that it _shouldn't_ take time, that he doesn't _have_ time, if he's gone too long they won't need him anymore. "We'll be here when you're ready." Those words wither all protests and Malcolm wonders not for the first time if JT was secretly a profiler.

"Think Gil will let me come back?" Malcolm stalls, hoping if he talks long enough he can get his trembling under control.

"Like that would stop you." JT doesn't miss the sweat that's beading along Malcolm's hairline, how his good leg is shaking almost as hard as his arms now. "Show me your room so I know where to find you next time." 

"Next time?" Malcolm raises an eyebrow.

"Don't make it weird." JT counters, hoping the room is close, that he can get the kid back there, save him the embarrassment from the collapse he knows is imminent. JT steps to the side, expecting Malcolm to continue his path down the hall, but ends up in the way as Malcolm tries to carefully turn while keeping his hips straight. 

"Bright?" JT's tone is warning, threatening him to not say what he knows he's going to say.

"You want me to go to my room, I'm going." He bites the words out. 

"You passed it." Malcolm doesn't answer and he's not sure he would even if he could.

JT is grateful that they'd passed Malcolm's room by only about three doors; by the time they pass the second door he's not so sure Malcolm would make it much further. He hovers at his side, ready to keep him from crashing to the floor should his body give up on him.

The room is small and Malcolm pauses inside the door, seeming to decide something before he bypasses the bed, heading for the far corner and JT wonders if Malcolm's having some sort of episode, but Malcolm just tucks his walker against the wall, carefully pivoting on his good leg he's faced with his error. There's no way for him to make it the few feet to the bed, but that doesn't seem to stop him. JT's seen that look before, soldiers who steel themselves against the pain they know is coming, pain they're submitting to.

" _Don't_." JT barks the word and Malcolm sways on his good leg, struggling to maintain balance. The ease with which JT crosses to him makes Malcolm jealous, but it's quickly replaced by surprise as JT secures his arm around Malcolm's waist, pulling his arm over his shoulder, steadying him. Malcolm is tense in his arm, JT can feel the shame and hate radiating off him. "I think my fatigues weighed more than you." The joke works somewhat, Malcolm huffing a laugh and JT waits for him to make the first move, easily supporting him as he all but carries him the few steps to the bed.

Malcolm untangles himself from JT's embrace, leaning back against the bed, he braces himself for what comes next, the jarring that pulling himself back into bed will be, the white hot pain that will ignite his leg as he drags its useless weight up. All while assuring himself that this is all going to help him. He knows he should call the nurses, knows they'll help him, that they'll come looking for him once they've noticed he'd not walking anymore, so he needs to be quick.

In a maneuver JT hopes to never watch again, Malcolm slides himself up into the bed, swinging his good leg up so it rests on the bed, a steadying breath, then he's pulling his bad leg up. A strangled cry escapes, his head hanging as ragged breaths tear from his lips.

"Mr. Bright." The nurse's tone is reprimanding, but doesn't seem to have any effect on him as he just nods, head still ducked.

"Are we going to have to tie you to the bed?" The nurse frowns at JT who just shakes his head, he's not condoning this.

"I might like it." His voice is rough but his head tips back as he says the words and there's that smirk that makes JT roll his eyes. This seems to have the desired effect as the nurse fusses over him for only a minute more before she leaves, instructing him to _call_ if he needs to get up. He won't, but she tried.

o~O~o

It became an orchestrated dance ensuring the walker, because he had to build up strength before upgrading to a cane and no, he didn't miss the irony in that, was tucked out of sight.

Malcolm had just finished the day’s last round of physio and and crawled into bed, his muscles burning and twitching, stomach twisting with nausea.

"Malcolm?" His eyes shot open at the hesitant sound of Dani's voice to find her lingering in the doorway.

"Dani?" The word comes out thick and he swallows hard, it wouldn't do to puke on his visitor. 

"Is it ok, I can go-" She doesn't have to finish as Malcolm's already shaking his head, pleading eyes begging her to stay even as his mind tells him to send her away.

Malcolm looks like he could fall asleep at any moment, the dark smudges under his eyes made worse by the harsh hospital lights; but the smile he greets Dani with is anything but. He sits up straighter even though it clearly pains him, glancing to make sure the curtain is pulled just so, his walker tucked carefully behind it, out of sight. Dani doesn’t miss how his face pinches at the motion and is quick to cross the room, hoping to stop him from doing anything further.

"How was your day?" She starts, eyeing the guest chair, before perching on the bed, facing him. "Oh, you know." Malcolm gestures around him to the hospital and hopes she can't feel the tremors in his leg. _Will no part of my body not betray me?_

She smiles at that and then looks around nervously. Malcolm's stomach twists harder, _This is it. She's trying to figure out how to unsee me._

"Dani,” She winces at the tone as he pauses, unsure of how to phrase it. He's usually the one being broken up _with_ and those aren't good templates because she's not the one riddled with issues. “I was thinking about…” He gestures vaguely between them, encompassing that thing they’re doing that neither can bear to name.

No sooner has he forced the words out than he realizes he's misread her expression. She was nervous, but not about undating him. Her face flickers through shock, then hurt to realization and settles on anger.

" _Seriously_ , Bright." Dani yells, shoving off the bed and pacing next to it. She could hear it in his tone, the way he grasped for what to call them, how to define whatever it was they were. 

_We're back to last names now, I deserve that._ Malcolm thinks, watching her warily.

"You don't get to do that. Don't profile me and sure as hell don't profile me _wrong_."

"I'm sorry. I just-"

"Thought you would decide what's best for me?" Malcolm snaps his mouth shut at those words. Even though that wasn't what he thought he was doing, even though that wasn't his intent necessarily, it's exactly what he was doing. She was right. 

"I'm sorry." He hates how many times he's said those words in the short amount of time she'd been there. She had come to see him and he'd managed to screw it up in less than three minutes, which wasn't a new record for him but he'd hoped to never set it with Dani.

His hand twitches like he's going to reach for her before he's clenching the sheets, holding himself back even as he watches her, waiting for her to leave like so many others. She levels him with a _look_ before she resumes her seat on the bed, resting her hand over his clenched one, blue eyes meet hers, surprise in them. "Tell me about your day."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So...there it was. I hope it was...acceptable. Is that a rating? Let's make it a rating and that way if it wasn't acceptable you can tell me in the comments and I can try harder when editing the next chapter. The hamsters that run my brain thrive on kudos and comments and you wouldn't want to harm a hamster, right?


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She has a whole new appreciation for text and connotation thanks to him. She'd never found texting hard before she met him, but quickly realized that Malcolm Bright was a whole different problem over text than in person.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Valentine's Day!  
> Thank you to everyone who's been reading! I really appreciate all your comments and kudos.

**Bright Spot:**

_I'm bored._

That's how it starts. A text from Malcolm his first full day home. Dani glances at the clock, impressed to see he's made it to a crisp 10:38, a record considering how long he's probably been awake.

**Dani:**

_I'm not. I'm at work._

She hopes it comes off teasing but as soon as she sends it, she fears it's more admonishing. He doesn't.

**Bright Spot:**

_But you don't have a case?_

Dani frowns, of course he would want details and Gil probably wasn't giving them to him. Although, maybe...she tries not to go too far down that path. 

**Bright Spot:**

_I mean...text is hard. How do people do this for entire relationships? Like online dating where you go weeks WEEKS! before meeting the person._

Dani snickers at the latest text, earning a glance from JT.

**Bright Spot:**

_I mean, if you wanted to come over when you get off._

Part of Dani had longed for these words, but now that he's offered the implications come too. 

Jessica.

Jessica's house. 

Jessica who thinks Dani loves him.

It’s not like she can change that, Jessica made her proclamation and Dani doubts that her showing up, or not showing up, will do little to sway the woman’s mind, And she would like to see Malcolm.

**Dani:**

_Are you asking or inviting?_

The question drags on and Dani thinks he’s finally found something to occupy himself or maybe therapy has started.

**Bright Spot:**

_Aren’t those the same thing?_

His answer explains the delay and Dani can hear his argument about how this conversation supports his stance against texting as she types it, charmed by his inability to recognize flirting. 

**Dani:**

_Asking: Dani, do you have any interest in visiting when you get off work? Then I respond. Inviting: Dani, would you like to visit after work?_

His argument follows in remarkable time considering she’s witnessed his texting speed.

**Bright Spot:**

_This is the problem with texting. That’s the SAME thing. The same words rearranged._

Dani knows she needs to wrap this up, she’s never been one to be on her phone unless it’s serious and she knows that her grins and chuckles aren’t being missed.

**Dani:**

_It’s the connotation, Bright._

She sets her phone to the side, resolving to leave it until break, whenever that may be but it’s the quick response that has her eyes sliding back to the device. She tells herself this _will_ be the last check and uses her left hand to unlock the phone, reasoning if she doesn’t put her pen down she’s still working.

**Bright Spot:**

_Visiting?_

She wants to draw this out, tease him a little longer, but now is not time and really not the place.

**Dani:**

_Yes._

She sends it, shoving aside thoughts of how abrupt it sounds as she drops her phone into her desk drawer, turning back she finds JT watching her.

“Bright?” She twists her surprise into confusion at JT’s question. “Only he could make a person lock their phone in a drawer.” JT shakes his head, returning to his own work. Well, he’s not wrong, he just doesn’t know why he’s right.

o~O~o

Thanks to the case they worked at Jessica's, Dani isn’t surprised when the door is answered by a maid.

“I’m here to see Malcolm?” Dani offers, not really sure how these things work. The maid nods and steps aside, allowing Dani to enter before she sets a brisk pace into the depths of the house, expecting Dani to follow.

Dani was surprised Malcolm wasn’t waiting for her. She could see certain...societal norms discouraging him from answering the door, even if he physically could, but in all the time she’d known him he’d always been a force. She’d texted him when she left work, figuring giving him a heads-up would be a good idea, a casual checking in now that it was many hours later. But Malcolm had been enthusiastic in his text, or at least that’s how Dani read them.

The maid stops before double doors, the one partially open revealing a sliver of the wood paneled room beyond. She nods to Dani before disappearing back the way they’d come, leaving Dani with the awkward decision of how to proceed.

Dani hears a soft hiss of pain accompanied by the shuffling sounds of movement abruptly cutting off. She knows she should knock, but she also knows that Bright could be on the floor and would casually ask for a minute like it was nothing. Pushing open the door she finds Malcolm whiteknuckling a walker, head hanging, taking carefully controlled breaths.

“Malcolm.” His shoulders tense at the sound of his name, head snapping up. 

“Dani.” His smile is tight, closer to a grimace, as he tries to straighten. 

Malcolm silently argues with himself as he stands there, knowing he couldn't hide his physical therapy forever, but had harbored hopes of easing her into it and had spent his long hours in the hospital figuring out careful ways of keeping her from having to witness exactly this. 

He'd thought he could just leave it in another room and then carefully make his way back and be sitting before she arrived, but PT had taken more out of him than he wanted to admit and by the time he'd finally resigned himself to having to ask Louisa to move it to another room, she'd walked in.

"It's only temporary." He blurts, eyes searching the carpet in front of him.

"You standing? I hope so. Unless you're planning on making a speech?" Malcolm huffs a laugh, steadying himself on his good leg he pivots the walker off to the side as though making it less apparent would help her forget its existence, before carefully lowering himself to sit next to her.

It's easier once he's sitting to swivel the walker to the side, 

The silence threatens to turn awkward, it seems that time has reverted them to near strangers like they were when Malcolm first joined the team. So she does what she did then, give him a chance and get him talking.

"How was your day?" There's a flicker of pain at the mundane question, at the question needing to be asked at all since he was usually present for her day.

"I think I already told you it was boring and then it was _painfully_ boring when Asher arrived." 

"I've got competition?" She wiggles her eyebrows at him, enjoying the confusion as he tries to figure out the joke, eyes narrowing when he does. 

"If you saw him, you'd be angry I saved you, he's _very_ good looking." She knocks his shoulder with hers, rolling her eyes. "JT-" Malcolm cuts himself off, weighing if he really wants to ask, if he should ask, but it's too late since he's already started. "JT didn't tell you?" He gestures to the walker and Dani understands they're not going to make it anywhere if they don't get this out of the way first. 

"Mention?" She accepts they have to get through this but she's not going to make it easy for him.

"That I'm handicap?" He spits the word, but she knows him well enough that the vitriol only extends to himself.

"Capable." She counters, enjoying his furrowed blink of confusion. "Handi _capable_. And no, why would he? He mentioned he visited, you were your obstinate self and already exasperated the nurses." Dani shrugs and meets Malcolm's gaze, seeing the uncertainty that still lingers there and she knows it will take more than just her words to reassure him; it will take time. 

Her cheeks flush as she thinks how if they were anywhere else she would show him just how capable she still found him and she curses his damn profiling skills as he smirks.

o~O~o

Dani silently gauged Malcolm's progress and how PT was going as the days turned into weeks. Nights spent reading everything she could find about recovery time before she'd crawl into bed, the memory of what Jessica said joining her only to taunt her until sleep came. 

She knew she could ask, but wasn't sure if it was her place or that he'd appreciate her pointing out what he believed to be another thing that made him a broken man. 

Dani had been excited and surprised when he'd greeted her at the door his second week at Jessica’s, having carefully timed the trek so he would arrive right before she did. Though the walk back to his room had proved almost too much, a fine sheen of sweat covered him as he fought for every step, whole body trembling by the time they reached the couch. 

The offer to pause, to rest, had been on her lips but she knew the careful determination in his eyes was fragile and she wouldn't be the one to take his pride from him.

"So, Edrisa stopped by." She needs to fill the silence, worried if it's left unchecked it will consume the night. Malcolm doesn't have to look to know what she's talking about, he's more surprised she's held her tongue this long.

"She thought it would help." _It_ was a basket, now securely fixed to the front bar of his walker. Dani tries to hide her smile behind her hand but it's too big and the giggles bubble out.

"She was very excited to visit you and hasn't stopped talking about ‘ _how good you move’_." Malcolm smiles fondly. It had been good to see Edrisa, even moreso that Jessica wasn't sure what how to handle the eccentric medical examiner who came bearing a handmade bone basket for his walker. At a distance it looked like traditional basket weave, the different slats overlapping, but now that she was closer Dani can clearly make out the individual bones, carefully crafted and knitted together; the inside lined in black fabric.

"I guess you told her?" His eyes are tight as he asks, not quite looking at Dani. Part of him knew word would get around and it wasn't exactly a secret; but it was one thing to know something and another to really accept it.

"Actually, _no_." It's the tone that tells Malcolm there's more than just Gil or JT mentioning he was currently hindered by a walker. "She," Dani rolls her lips, trying to keep from laughing so she can get the words out, "pulled a few strings to get a look at your medical records." Malcolm's eyes widen as he nods to himself. He really shouldn't be surprised, it is Edrisa.

"You know, that wasn't her first plan." Dani gestures to the basket.

"Oh?" It looked like it had taken time, each bone crafted then carefully fitted together.

"She wanted to get you a battery operated blue and red light." That's all it takes for Dani and Malcolm to start laughing uncontrollably and it was easy to forget, if only for a few minutes, that there was anything outside of this moment; outside of them.

o~O~o

An unoccupied Malcolm Bright quickly resembled a walking version of the History channel.

Dani learned when PT started the texts of that day's topic would stop, resuming a few hours later as though he'd never left, which sometimes startled Dani depending on the topic. 

**Bright Spot:**

_It only takes six berries for it to be lethal, less for children._

**Dani:**

_Please tell me you're referring to a case_.

Dani didn’t dare to take her eyes from her phone as the dots rolled across the screen, indicating Malcolm was responding. She wouldn’t be surprised if he somehow a case found him and then she’d have to be the one to tell Gil.

**Bright Spot:**

_Atropa Belladonna. Deadly nightshade if you prefer._

The panic eases as Dani recalls today's topic had started with Greek mythology, but how they got to poisonous plants she'd missed.

**Dani:**

_I'd prefer neither actually._

**Bright Spot:**

_The Fates, you've heard of the Fates right?_

**Dani:**

_From Hercules, they share an eye, right?_

She could hear Malcolm's confusion and disappointment as the dots appeared, disappeared and reappeared, probably trying to look up what the hell she was talking about.

**Bright Spot:**

_Should we add that to our list of movies?_

Dani had barely finished typing out a response, the image of Malcolm watching a Disney movie was something she definitely wanted to see, before he was back on his tangent.

**Bright Spot:**

_It's named after Atropos, the fate who cuts the thread of life. It means: without a way forward._

Dani was never really sure how to respond to these bits of trivia, they were always interesting but she felt rather silly repeating, _Fascinating_ , or some variation.

**Bright Spot:**

_You don't care about the Fates._

_I'm bothering you aren't I?_

She could hear the embarrassment in the words and knew that her days of trivia would end. The dots reappeared and she knew more self-depreciation would follow.

**Dani:**

_I didn't know I cared about the Fates until you told me about them. Though I am concerned with your knowledge of botany._

She has a whole new appreciation for text and connotation thanks to him. She'd never found texting hard before she met him, but quickly realized that Malcolm Bright was a whole different problem over text than in person. There were no smiles hidden by a ducked head, no trembling hands jammed in pockets, it was just rolling dots and messages deleted before they were ever sent, to leave you guessing. 

Like now, messages composed and deleted, composed and discarded before a tentative,

**Bright Spot:**

_Dani, would you like to come over tonight?_

o~O~o

"Dinner is ready. Dani won't you join us?" Jessica appears in the doorway and Dani's never felt more like a caught teenager.

"Mother…" Malcolm starts, intending to get Dani out of a dinner he's sure she doesn't want to attend.

"Malcolm, she has been here nearly every night for two weeks, it is past the time she join us for dinner. She is our _guest._ Would you have me send her away so that we may eat? Maybe leave her here until you’re done and your return like some pet?" 

Dani turns and returns the map to that sentence over in her head, what she thought started as an invitation detoured into chastisement and possibly a self-directed guilt trip. Malcolm looks like he wants to protest but in true Jessica fashion there's no good response.

Which is how Dani finds herself sitting at an elaborately set table across from Malcolm who can't stop glancing at her, clearly embarrassed by his mother's behavior but she just smiles, finding it amusing. She can see where Malcolm gets his taste from, though how he missed out on the pretension she's yet to figure out though she has a feeling it involves Gil.

The food is served and Dani notes Malcolm's differs from hers and Jessica's. She knew about his eating restrictions, even though he was loathe to acknowledge them, they did come up occasionally. 

“You work with Gil, it must be _interesting_.” Jessica starts, fixing her attention on Dani who forces herself to not give Malcolm a, _She serious with this?_ look. She knows Jessica’s type and it won’t do her any favors to look to Malcolm, Jessica would take it as a plea for help but that’s not Dani’s style. 

“Mother _._ ” His tone is warning though Jessica deflects it with a gesture, her eyes never leaving Dani. 

“It is. But he’s good, he looks out for us.” She internally cringes as she realizes what that implies, how it sounds.

Jessica's gaze, meeting the challenge, eyebrow arching.

"Women in the workforce is a big thing nowadays, a detective no less, I imagine that didn’t come easy.” Jessica barely pauses long enough for Dani to finish an expression. “Do you see yourself being a detective forever? Or do want to settle down, have kids?" 

" _Mother_." The word a bite as Malcolm's hand spasms on the table, fingers splaying out before clenching into a fist. 

"What dear? I'm getting to know your friend." Dani buys time taking a drink, keeping her eyes from straying across the table. They'd never discussed kids, there wasn't any reason to, but Jessica's question was meant for her specifically, she was trying to gauge if she had any hope of grandchildren, at least from Dani's side.

Dani could see it in Jessica's eyes, the way she allowed Dani into her house night after night, leaving them alone before finally summoning them to dinner. She had it all arranged in her head, assumed they would end up together even if Malcolm didn't. Dani wondered if this is what it felt like to be setup by Jessica Whitly.

"Haven't put much thought into it." Dani's certain Malcolm sees the lie in those words. "Not exactly mother material." She swears she sees Malcolm's mouth open to protest out of the corner of her eye but she doesn't dare turn to him, not with his mother watching. Dani can’t stand to have this conversation because Jessica brought it up at dinner and Malcolm feels compelled to reassure. 

o~O~o

"I'm so sorry about her," Malcolm frowns as though Jessica can feel his displeasure through the walls.

"It's fine." Dani shrugs it off but she can see it in his eyes, the debate if he should bring up what he read on her at dinner or let it pass. Dani knows his deficit of social etiquette well enough that he will lose the battle and make some terribly awkward comment. "I should probably go."

"You'd make a great mom, Dani." Even after the perfectly good out she gave him, Bright can't resist ignoring social norms.

"And you'd make a good dad." He flinches as though she'd slapped him, the words coming off flip rather than the honest way she'd meant them.

"Sure, they could secure my cuffs every night before bed." His tone is bitter and he shifts onto his bad leg, relishing the pain it brings, the pain he knows how to handle.

"Malcolm," She waits until blue eyes reluctantly meet hers, she wants him to fully understand, to trust, what she says next. "I'm serious, I think you'd make a wonderful dad." She lets the statement stand, wills it to soothe the deep cut she'd unintentionally made before she continues, "Jessica as grandma though, that's gonna be dangerous."

This draws a laugh from Malcolm, though it doesn't quite reach his eyes and she knows it will take a long time before he stops turning those words over and over in his head, trying to convince himself that she believed him to be nothing like his father.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So...there was that.  
> What do you all think?  
> You know I love comments or emoji hieroglyphics.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He'd been present for Jessica's pronouncement and knew she cared for Bright, but maybe she wasn't handling it as well as he thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry for the delay, the plot bunnies ran away with what was left of my brain.

**Dani:**

_No preview today?_ Dani's rather proud that she managed to hold off until nearly noon before texting Malcolm, her concern growing at the absence of a text she hadn't realized she'd grown to expect. An answer doesn't come until it's nearly time for her to go home.

**Bright Spot:**

_Sorry. Not so interesting today. Watching movies._ The handful of words and Dani's experience tell her enough, something happened that has toned down the over-the-top-manic-thing.

**Dani:**

_Oh yeah? Anything good?_ It's the near instantaneous response, her message barely appearing on the screen before his and she understands.

**Bright Spot:**

_Want to watch with me?_

He'd spent the day turning it over and over, if he should ask, how he should ask and then if he had waited too long to even ask. He'd reasoned that her texting, inquiring about his silence must mean she wanted to see him. Right? Malcolm loathed social interactions. 

Malcolm doesn't greet her when she arrives, Louisa smiles and seems to debate saying something before thinking better of it and just leading her to his temporary room. It was the second sign the day hadn't gone well. Malcolm pushed to his feet at the sound of the door, but was regretting the decision as he leaned heavily on the walker he still needed to get around, his bad leg trembling as it threatened to collapse. 

Dani forces her eyes not to stray to his white knuckles or the grimace that lingers under his welcoming smile as she crosses the room before he can think of moving towards her, pressing a kiss that seems so natural she tries not to think too hard about to his lips, dropping onto the couch next to his spot. 

"So, what are we watching? Some foreign film?" She braces, hoping to mask the concern at his careful movements, his leg stiff before him as he tries to sit, the way he'd tensed at the casual kiss, something that was new for them.

Malcolm knows trivia about the film which turns into the topic for the night as one movie ends and Dani starts another, not quite ready to leave him when it seems he's in for a long night, his fingers digging into his spasming leg.

The vintage movies and Malcolm's low voice, whispering facts and anecdotes, lulls her to sleep, his shoulder the perfect pillow.

o~O~o

“Get your shit together Powell.” Dani growls at herself in the mirror. What was she doing? It was one thing to spend the night when it was just tangled sheets, but this was soft morning smiles and that was...well it was something else. 

Dani leaves the bathroom, really seeing no other choice and the longer she stays in there the more awkward it will be when she finally emerges. It didn’t seem to matter though as in the short time she was gone the industrious maids had seen fit to bring them breakfast. A lot of breakfast. 

There was a rolling cart, the kind Dani thought only existed in hotels, laden with every breakfast food imaginable and a few that Dani couldn’t identify. 

“I think we’ve been granted a reprieve from breakfast.” Malcolm’s crooked smile doesn’t hide the nerves behind it, how uncomfortable it is that his mother throws around this kind of money for a breakfast she knows will go mostly untouched. And yet she did it anyway, for Dani. Her mind happens onto this revelation with her first sip of coffee, hardly noting the liquid is scalding as she tries to reason her way out of that thought. 

Jessica _knew_ what foods Malcolm could and couldn't handle, experience letting Dani know it was the vast majority of the cart’s contents, but there were so many things on there Dani liked, things she had eaten at breakfast over the weeks, now collected and offered.

“Dani?” The alarm in his voice doesn’t pull her from her thoughts so much as the gentle tug as he tries to pry the mug from her hands. Her brows furrow in confusion but the pebbly feeling of burned-open taste buds hit her and she realizes why he’s concerned. 

“I’m fine.” It comes out more of a slur than she hoped and he frowns as he sets the mug aside. 

“I’m sorry. This is awkward, I don’t know-” Malcolm starts and Dani knows he didn’t have to profile her to glean what had distracted her enough that she nearly gave herself second degree burns. She doubted that he understood exactly what part of it made her uncomfortable but she wasn’t about to correct him.

“No, it’s...nice.” She realizes as soon as she says it that it’s true, this was Jessica trying, accepting, in her over-the-top upper-Manhattan way. Probably. 

She moves to the cart, splaying two plates between her hands so that she can easily fill both. 

“Waitressing?” Malcolm guesses and she can hear the frown in his tone as he realizes too late he might have profiled her, the line is so blurred for him by now he forgets what normal observation includes. 

“First job, you learn it quick or you’re out.” She gives him a smile over her shoulder, aiming to reassure that he’s in the normal observation party but the sight before her has her smile faltering. He’s the sleepy, morning Malcolm she never let herself stay around to see after their Talk. Hair mussed, sleep shirt wrinkled and limbs loose from a rare night of rest. 

She turns back to getting them breakfast but she sees the confusion flicker across his face, _Get it together Powell._

o~O~o

"Dani. _Dani_." It's the frantic tone more than her name that pulls her from sleep. Malcolm's bright blue eyes filled with panic. "You're late." Now that's she's awake he's apologetic. 

She bolts up, ignoring the hiss of pain her sudden movement causes as she takes in the morning light shining through the tall windows. She's _really_ late. Her phone happily blinks on the table before her and she knows a slew of angry-turned-concerned texts and calls are waiting for her. She'd be lucky if Gil or JT hadn't already gone to her place. She scrambles to find shoes and jacket, silently cursing the maids for straightening around their sleeping forms. 

Malcolm struggles to his feet, hating that he's all but useless, that his need to have her near has caused problems he won't be there to take the blame for.

"Dani-" He starts but she doesn't acknowledge, her name lost in the scuffle of frantic thoughts and hurried fingers. She flashes Malcolm the briefest look, taking in his rumpled form, pain replacing the usual fatigue, before she's running out the door. Which is how neither of them notice he'd slept without the restraints, next to her, all night.

o~O~o

Dani worked with the fervor of the guilty. Her reports had never been more perfect, or timely. She didn't pause for lunch, reasoning she'd lost that by coming in late and instead devoured one of the protein bars she kept in her desk. She dreaded when Gil would call her into his office, knowing it was going to happen, it was just a matter of when.

"Dani. A word." She smooths her hands down her pants,the clothes wrinkled from her go-bag. Gil waited until she stepped inside to close his office door behind him, circling the desk he took a seat and waited for her to sit.

"I'm so sorry. I should have called if I was going to be late. We could've had a case and..." Gil lets her run herself out, listening patiently until her pause draws on long enough it seems she's done.

"Are you ok?" Dani realizes this isn't her lieutenant that called her in, but the father figure that pulled her back all those years ago. The tone that says I thought you were in a ditch somewhere making her feel worse. "You're not-" He studies her, searching her eyes, taking in her go-clothes, all the signs of things he should've seen coming. Hed been present for Jessica's pronouncement and knew she cared for Bright, but maybe she wasn't handling it as well as he thought. How long has he failed her, how deep had she gotten.

"No. No. _I'm fine_. It's not like that." She can see the faintest bit of distrust in his eyes and why wouldn't he. Lying was all that came out of your mouth when you were an addict. "I swear, I was-" Dani cuts herself off, realizing what she'd almost said.

Friends could accidentally fall asleep together when one of them wasn't on medical leave and didn't have to be restrained to sleep. She's fairly certain if she told Gil the truth he would believe her to be using again. She curses herself again, hating that he can tell she's lying, that she can see the sadness there.

"If it happens again. Call." She flinches, she doesn't mean to but it feels like she's lost his respect, the support he provided. She rises, knowing a dismissal when it's given and heads for the door.

"Dani," She stops, hand on the door, "You're never late, we just...worry." It's small, but she clings to the love in Gil's eyes.

**Malcolm**

_I'm so sorry._ Malcolm deletes the _blame it on me_ because no one knows about them and now is certainly not the time to share that they're....

The newest message is what gets Dani.

**Malcolm**

_Are you fired? Please don't be fired. I'll fix it._ She huffs a laugh because of course he would. She realizes it must have bothered him all day to not hear from her, can practically hear his nervous pacing, now hindered by PT and the walker.

**Dani:**

_It's not your fault and I'm not fired._

The three dots do the wave longer than his message warrants.

**Bright Spot:**

_Good. That's good._

**Dani:**

_Go ahead and say whatever it is that you're overthinking._ The dots appear and disappear before reappearing once more.

**Bright Spot:**

_If I promise to set an alarm will you join me for dinner?_ Dani smiles down at her phone, at what that invite really asks, if they’re ok. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, we're closing in. Just one...probably two chapters left!  
> I can't thank you all enough for your wonderful comments, emjois and kudos, they get me through the days.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He will be a broken man, inside and out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the platform for angst, please check your ticket because once this train starts rolling it can't be stopped.

'You've made remarkable progress Mr. Bright." Dr. Dovel declares settling back in his chair as he consults Malcolm's chart. The exam had been uncomfortable and Malcolm knew therapy later would only make the pain worse but it was worth it. 

"Remarkable as in I can get rid of the walker?" The hope was clear in his voice.

"Yes, it looks like you've built enough strength back up that it's time we took the training wheels off, so to speak." Dr. Dovel glanced up, smiling at his news.

"Does that mean I'm released back to work?" Malcolm curbed his enthusiasm, he guessed there would still be a delay before he could go back to work, but it would be _reasonable,_ hardly more than a few days surely. Paperwork filing time, nothing more.

"I would encourage a few more days, give you time to get used to the rhythm of walking with a cane. Asher reports you've been practicing with it but it's going to be a bit of an adjustment for everyday. I'm sure once you find your stride you'll hardly notice it's there."

"Cane?” The word is strangled. “For how long?" 

"It will take time, but I'm sure that within a few months you'll forget you even have one most of the time. Why, I've had patients forget it in their grocery cart at the store and make it all the way home!" Dovelchuckles, misunderstanding Malcolm's confusion.

"Months? I thought, I thought physical therapy was supposed to _fix_ things?" He'd been pushing himself, convinced that if he worked hard enough he wouldn't need the cane, that he would walk fine.

Dovel frowns, finally realizing the disconnect. "Mr. Bright, I find the fault to be mine, I thought when we discussed this in the hospital that you understood your treatment plan." Name goes on, restating where he was shot, what was hit, all the gritty details that Malcolm understood far too well thanks to Martin. This time though, Malcolm forced himself to listen, to focus on the words and the harsh reality they held. 

"It _is_ possible that with time you may find you no longer need the cane for everyday excursions. Though I caution you that this will not be anytime in the near future _if_ it comes to pass at all." Malcolm clasps his trembling hand, trying to muffle the spasms. He will be a broken man, inside and out.

o~O~o

**Dani:**

_I'm guessing they don't come to life above the clouds? Help solve crimes._ Malcolm frowned at the text from Dani, wondering if she was in trouble and this was some coded message but it only took a glance at previous messages for him to remember the topic of the day had been gargoyles. She'd offered the subject a few days ago, during which he's refreshed and added to his knowledge before he started off her morning with their, now routine, trivia. 

**Bright Spot:**

_I feel like you're referencing something again._ Between the gnarly scar on his thigh, his cane and now talk of the twisted sculptures, Malcolm cringes as he thinks of the fable _The Hunchback of Notre Dame_. He knew he was being ridiculous but the drive back to his mother's house through the streets filled with old cathedrals does little to help turn his mind from the parallel.

**Dani:**

_What gives you that idea? Now come one, just because I picked the topic doesn't mean you get out of detail duties._ He smiles down at his phone, he was definitely missing a reference, but he would humor her. One last time.

**Bright Spot:**

_The Catholic church used them as a way to fend off evil, to subliminally encourage people that inside the church was safe from the horrors of the world. Spiritually speaking._

o~O~o

There it was. There was no denying it now.

Malcolm had spent the day writing and rewriting his resignation letter. Then the note he would send to Gil, he had more respect than to blindside the lieutenant. He thought Gil would be relieved, he's a liability...more of a liability. At least I can't run into dangerous situations anymore. He thought Gil would laugh. Eventually. 

Malcolm contemplated what he would do now. Where he would go. Staying would be…problematic, the chance of running into one of his former team all too high. Deep down Malcolm knew this wasn't true, that they didn't run in the same social circles, but he hated to acknowledge it. He entertained lecturing, that could happen anywhere or allwheres if he wanted to travel, leaving his loft as a touchstone. Or a museum docent, he could… he forced himself to think of anything but the one thing that was on his mind.

 _Dani_.

He had three days, well two days now, before his doctor filed his release paperwork and the department would know he was cleared to return. Five days if he counted taking the weekend off which would probably be encouraged anyway and raise suspicions if he didn’t fight. 

Dani didn't know and so her texts to him throughout the day kept pulling his thoughts back until the too few hours between his doctor's appointment and her getting off work collided.

Mere moments before Dani walked through the door and he started the end he shoved to his feet, shifting his weight to his good leg even though he knew he wasn't supposed to get into the habit.

Dani strides in, concern clear on her face as she takes in Malcolm standing and the walker carefully positioned off to the side, yet still in reach. He watches her assume it was a rough therapy day, shuffling that question to the back of her mind as she closes the distance between them.

"How was your day?" It was a throwaway greeting to anyone else but between them it had become their opening, their secret password, the cue for them to settle into the safety of each other.

"It was fine, saw the doctor...." Malcolm gestures, letting the words trail off. "Yours?" He knows he should do it now, not draw it out, not make her night that much harder by letting her settle into false security. He knows he _should_ , but he can't bring himself to do it just yet.

"FBI coming in and taking over," Dani's nose wrinkles in annoyance. "Some woman who's got serious daddy issues." Malcolm nods, fearing he knows exactly the agent in question. _Too bad she won't get the chance to insult me in front of Dani_. Malcolm can just imagine the running commentary his ex-coworker would have on his latest accessory.

"Bet Gil's not happy." Dani studies him and he knows he's messed up.

"You good?” Her eyes narrow as though she could read the problem like a note pinned to his shirt. “You haven't asked who she is or what case she's trying to take over." He wants to joke that he's rubbing off on her, that he'll make a profiler of her yet, but the words he should’ve spoken the moment she arrived weighs down his tongue. “Something happen with your doctor?” 

“I’m finally getting cleared.” He figures there’s no use hiding it, she’ll find out in a few days anyway. Her eyes flick to the walker but she doesn’t press, instead brown eyes settle on his and he knows what she’s going to say before she even starts and he loathes it. 

“Since you’re coming back, maybe we should talk to Gil?” She doesn’t have to say it, it’s clear in her tone, in all the events over the weeks. The daily visits, the movie nights, the running conversations that continue long after they've parted. Sleeping next to her without restraints.

"About...?" Malcolm holds her gaze, forcing feigned confusion onto his face. He will give her this last thing.

"You...coming back. I'm sure he's going to want you on desk duty until he's sure you're fine." There's a huffed smile at the end he's never heard from her before and he realizes it's her trying to keep it together. 

He makes some inane response he's not entirely sure makes sense. Leaning forward, he cups her cheek, silencing her words as he kisses her like he should have months ago, a kiss that tells her he loves her, that he couldn't imagine his life without her in it and he was grateful he was the one to get shot because he honestly doesn’t think he could handle her bleeding out in his hands.

"I should go. Gil wants us in early." Malcolm blinks himself back to her. She doesn't remark that he clearly hadn't heard a thing she'd said. With that she rises, hands tucked into her pockets she heads for the door. Malcolm pushes to his feet but she's set her pace, easily moving faster than he's been able to since it happened, clear she doesn't want him to accompany her to the door, to a courting perp walk. "Have a good night, Bright." She lets the door fall closed behind her.

He waits, counts out a beat of his heart and then another, reminding himself that for once in his life he's doing what's best for him. Isn't that what everyone's always telling him to do anyway?

By the third beat he knows he can't do this. 

The first step is a lie, his leg holding him, a sign he can do this.

The third is a white hot pain that makes him nauseous, that he grits his teeth against.

The fifth is trembling and he's not even halfway across the room.

The seventh sends him crashing to the ground, his leg buckling beneath him, reminding him that he'll never carry her up the stairs again, or sweep her into his arms to dance around his loft. 

He won't be there to protect her the next time a suspect gets spooked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In this trying time we all need a Bright spot (or really terrible puns).
> 
> I hope you all are safe and stay that way. Take care of yourselves!
> 
> Thoughts, comments, emojis and kudos always welcome and greatly appreciated. Or, you know, random outbursts, those are fun too :D


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Malcolm wonders if his latest failure has finally brought some sense of common courtesy to his mother.

Malolm leans on his mother more than he wants as they mount the stairs to his loft, one hand white knuckling his cane. "I'll have a lift put in." Jessica offers.

"It's fine, I don't need a lift." Malcolm’s so focused on the fire eating up his thigh he misses the way Jessica’s face tightens at the exasperation in his tone, the pain sharpening the words. 

"I don't see how you expect to get groceries up these stairs-" She cuts herself off and Malcolm wonders if his latest failure has finally brought some sense of common courtesy to his mother.

"It's a good thing I don't eat much then." They reach the top and for some reason this is the most daunting, the step he feels could be the most dangerous as he plants his cane and leans his weight into it, finding balance and trusting it to hold him as he moves his good leg up onto the floor of his loft. His cane and bad leg following, albeit somewhat slower. Feeling the arm around him tense, Malcolm peers up at his mother in confusion, wondering why this small feat is paining her, but her attention isn’t on him, when he follows her gaze over his shoulder he understands.

Gil, Dani, JT and Edrisa all wait in front of his island, _Welcome Home_ banner and balloons strung around the space, their expressions clearly surprised, but not the happy-that-you're-home kind.

"You didn't tell them." Jessica breathes the words, disappointment in her tone. Malcolm feels exposed without his suit, he could handle them seeing him with a cane if only he could hide away in one of his suits, instead he finds himself barely standing before them, leg trembling and threatening to give, in only a pair of soft sleep pants and an oversized hoodie that he'd stolen from Gil years ago. 

" _Kid_." Gil’s shock turning to hurt as he moves toward Malcolm is almost worse. Malcolm feels foolish under their combined gaze, it had never occurred to him that someone would throw a party to welcome him home so he never considered that it'd be yet another instance in his life where his very existence fucked things up.

He'd meant to tell them; he knew he'd _have_ to tell them eventually, but he kept clinging to those few words the doctor had said, _maybe, one day_. Maybe he would walk without a cane, he'd still have a limp, but that could be from anything, could be hidden when he's sitting or standing. He'd lied to himself, careful wording to let them think therapy meant for the mind, not body, never let them see him walk; surely he wouldn't need a cane by the time he was released?

He can't bring himself to look at Dani, he knows the betrayal he'll see. She'll have figured out he had purposefully hurt her to protect himself, pushed her away knowing full well what it had cost her to trust him, to let herself be with him and he’d selfishly thrown it away..

“During the Middle Ages, a cane in the left hand symbolized the ‘Hand of Justice’.” He smiles softly at Edrisa, leave it to her to not be fazed at all by this. 

Whatever Gil starts to say is abruptly changes as he takes in the white knuckles and trembling leg that threatens to buckle. "Let's move this party into the living room." He smiles, trying to cover up the awkward tension the party has dissolved into but Malcolm's cheeks still burn as he's sure the team watches as he's all but escorted by his parents into the living room and onto his couch. 

Once seated, Malcolm awkwardly holds the cane between his knees, still unsure of what to do with it once he's sitting. Looks are exchanged but no words are said as the party decorations look more sarcastic by the minute.

"This is why you kept delaying leaving. Louisa has been accepting deliveries for years, but you needed an excuse." Malcolm nods approvingly at his mother. "Definitely did not see this being the reason." He doesn't mean it as the jab it comes off as, even JT cringes at the comment.

"Why wouldn't we welcome you back? It hasn't been the same without you around." Edrisa bubbles where she sits, doing little to hide her obviously taking in every aspect of his loft. Malcolm smiles tightly at that, yet another way he was a coward, keeping secrets so he wouldn't have to face the shame. 

"I'm guessing this would explain why you haven't been showing up at the precinct begging to come back before your release says you can?" Gil starts, confirming Malcolm's suspicion that he hasn't yet gotten his resignation letter and making this all the harder. As soon as Gil got his letter he would know; would realize that Malcolm had no intention of seeing them again if he could help it, expecting Gil to break the news to them that their profiler had left the team.

Gil reads it in his face, saving Malcolm from fumbling through the words, "You're not coming back." It's not a question, not even a guess, he can see it in his kid's eyes, the way he can't quite meet anyone's gaze, the deflection to profiling his mother...his absence at the station since he'd gotten comfortable with the walker. 

"Won't be running into any more dangerous situations." He was right, Gil doesn't laugh, if anything his disappointment increases, mouth thinning.

"Ha! Good one." The sharp look from JT has Edrisa sobering. Dani straightens from where she'd been leaning against the stairs and without a word she crosses the floor to the door and slips out, only Malcolm not watching her depart. 

"You didn't tell her." He meets Jessica's eyes, mouth pulling into the same smile he employs when he assures everyone he's fine. Edrisa and Malcolm are the only two in the room who don't fully understand the weight of those words, having not been present for Jessica’s previous pronouncement. JT just shakes his head at Malcolm before he exchanges a look with Gil and follows Dani out. 

"Would you excuse us, dear? We're going to have words that I doubt my son will want to hear." Edrisa usually heeded Gil’s look with a comment, but Jessica’s sent her back into the kitchen without a word.

Jessica’s head tilts to the side, studying her son before declaring, "You love her." 

"Have you been drinking?" Malcolm isn't prepared for those words, especially not from his mother. 

"Yes dear, but that doesn't change what I've said. You love her." Malcolm protests but Jessica keeps going. "You slept, _though the night_ without your restraints, next to her." He flushes, feeling like a caught teenager all over again. He chances a glance at Gil, who looks surprised but not as surprised as Malcolm thought he would but before Malcolm can make it too far down picking apart why, Gil is taking over.

"She's tough Malcolm, a Bronx girl." He knows what Gil is doing, what he's offering him if only he'll take it.

"Like Jackie." Gil smiles, yeah, like Jackie. Malcolm braces himself with his cane, pushing to his feet he pauses, the shame stalling him as he remembers the last time he'd tried to go after her, the long minutes he'd spent on the unforgiving floor before he'd crawled back to the couch, propping himself up so if anyone came in it looked purposeful.

o~O~o 

"So, you and Bright?" Dani looks up from where she'd crouched down against the brick wall of Malcolm's building, meeting her partner's eyes. "I knew there was something between you two. I've never seen you text more." 

"We're not, we're just..." She shrugs, rolling her eyes to the side. 

"You're just in love with him. She may be scary but Whitly knows her stuff." Dani laughs at that. JT had fought, shipped out and seen horrors that changed him, so to hear him refer to coiffed Jessica Whitly as scary, well...he wasn't wrong.

"He made it very clear that he's not interested." Dani tilts her head back until it too is resting against the wall, filling her vision with sky and just the tips of buildings.

"You're as stubborn as he is." JT scoffs. Dani just eyes her partner, she knew she could be stubborn, but she wasn't Bright level stubborn. "Seriously, you can't tell me that after all this time you don’t see what he’s doing.” Dani turns away at that. She had done nothing but spent the days turning over the past several weeks, wondering how they got from him clinging to her the day he woke in the hospital, screaming his throat raw with her name to him brushing her off like she was nothing.

“He’s doing,” _Don’t decide what’s best for me, “_ What’s best for him.” She sighs, only Malcolm Bright could take those words to heart in the worst way possible.

“Best get back in there before his skinny ass does something dumb like fall down the stairs.” JT grumbles, offering a hand to Dani. 

o~O~o

Malcolm’s head snaps up at the sound of the door opening, breaking his precarious focus and nearly sending him tumbling down the remaining stairs. 

“Dammit, Bright.” JT bounds up the steps two at a time, taking Malcolm’s weight he eases him down onto the stair where they stand, doubting the profiler has enough strength left to turn around and head back up. The cane slips from Malcolm’s fingers, the echo of clattering wood loud in the stairwell.

“I can’t. I can’t do this.” Malcolm mumbles the words to the step between his knees, hands fisted in his hair. 

“Bright.” JT knows these feelings all too well, he’d thought the same thing when he’d gotten back and somehow Tally had stayed through it and so he looks to Dani. 

“I can’t.” Malcolm repeats the words. “I can’t protect her, I can’t even walk down the fucking stairs after the woman I love to beg her to throw her life away on a broken man.” Malcolm’s arm stabs the air towards the bottom of the stairwell even as pain filled blue eyes bore into JT, the detective’s stomach churning at the admission. Resting his elbows on bent knees, Malcolm clasps one hand over his trembling fist, pressing them to his forehead in absolution. 

“You shouldn’t have to.” Malcolm starts at Dani’s voice, hands dropping he clenches his thigh so tightly JT fears he’s going to do more damage but doesn’t say anything as Malcolm only has eyes for her as she takes the steps between them. The sight of his cane, his weakness, in her hands make him sick, she sees his clench his jaw, shame obvious as he ducks his head. 

“You know what they call someone who protects another in the line of duty, who risks their life for someone else?” JT barely gives Malcolm the time to take a breath before he’s finishing, “A hero. And you know I don’t throw that shit around.” The honor is a cold comfort to Malcolm, he doesn’t want to be a hero, he just wants to deserve Dani. 

When Dani’s close enough she takes his chin like she did the first night she met him, the night she almost lost him to Burkhead, “Hear me now Malcolm Bright, you are _not_ broken.” It’s a struggle but he still manages to huff a breath of disbelief. “I love you.”

“Dani I-” Malcolm starts, defeat in his voice as though he can’t bear to fight her on this.

“I love you.” For the first time since JT and Dani have known him, Malcolm is rendered speechless, blue eyes blinking owlishly at her as she holds his gaze and watches him slip into the safety of profiling, of reading the honesty in her words. 

o~O~o

"You didn't tell him," Jessica raises an eyebrow at Gil. "About Dani." 

Jessica smiles, watching her son and what she knows will one day be her daughter-in-law, "She needed to tell him herself."

o~O~o

“I don’t see how you aren’t at least a little concerned that Edrisa not only knew where to get one, but that she did.” Dani casts another suspicious glance at the sword cane Edrisa had gifted Malcolm a few days prior under the guise of celebrating his unresigning. “Is it even legal?” 

“They don’t exactly make licenses to carry swords.” Malcolm rolls his eyes, giving himself away.

“You checked, didn’t you?” Dani laughs as Malcolm’s cheeks pink.

“Gil was _there_ -” Malcolm argues.

“He probably didn’t think you’d...yeah, you’re right.” Dani sighs, imagining the email they’re going to get about swords and other blades not being appropriate on-duty weaponry. A memo only a handful of people will even understand _why_ they’re getting it. “You know he’s going to give you a lecture about it not being a sanctioned weapon.” 

“I’ll try to have him do it in the conference room.” Malcolm promises, knowing Dani and JT won’t want to miss another memorable Bright moment. 

“That’s all I-”

  
“A babe like you deserves a real man!” Dani catches Malcolm straightening beside her, knows his hand is tightening on his cane as he takes one measured breath after another. 

“I have one, but I can understand if you’re not sure what one looks like.” Dani tangles their fingers, giving Malcolm’s hand a reassuring squeeze and shielding the tremors from the jerk, no need to give him more reasons.

“Pity fuck over here? Nah, you shouldn’t have to do all the work, a real man would-” Dani doesn’t stick around to hear what a “real man would”. It’s when they’re waiting at the next corner to cross does she realize what really bothers her about the whole interaction, Malcolm hadn’t said a word and hadn’t resisted when she’d started away, he’d just accepted those mans words as gospel.

“Malcolm,” Dani starts but she can see in the way his eyes can’t meet her gaze, just slide off her entirely, acceptance of a moment he’s known was coming and has been enjoying whatever time he had until then.

“It’s fine.” Malcolm finally looks at her, his smile a rictus of understanding. The rest of the walk back to Malcolm’s loft is silent, each step heavier than the last and Dani knows the man’s words are haunting Malcolm when he falters at the base of his stairs, a feat even on good days. 

Dani bides her time as the afternoon slips towards night, Malcolm distantly present, a delay to his responses, clear that he’s only partially present to Dani. Malcolm absently agrees to lay down with her, not even offering his usual caveat that he won’t sleep, but he’ll happily hold her all the same. He follows her to the back of the loft, Dani noting his limp is more pronounced and wonders if he pushed himself too far today, if she should’ve discouraged him from walking to the coffee shop and back. 

Malcolm heads for the closet, intending to change into soft pants and a t-shirt as Dani ducks into the bathroom, spending long minutes wondering if she’s about to do more damage, but she has to do _something_. 

Opening the door she finds Malcolm already propped against the headboard, the restraints, previously flung across the bed have been wound and tucked against the floorboards on either side, a silent indication he won’t be attempting sleep tonight. She lingers in the door, waiting until the blue eyes looking at her actually see her, his brow furrowing even as a smile pulls at his lips as he takes her in. She’d donned one of his button downs, cuffing the sleeves to her elbow, the only button done up is the one over her chest, the only place the shirt is snug. 

“ _Dani.”_ There’s so much in her name she falters under it. The desire for her, for all she offers him is there but it’s weighed down by doubt, by fallacies too easily accepted, by fear...but it is there and she intends to unbury it. 

She kneels on the bed, his unbuttoned shirt falling to midthigh on her, each move closer gracing him with glimpses of lace. She’s careful as she straddles him, intimately aware of where his bad leg is in relation to her, but she never breaks eye contact, doesn’t do anything that could be perceived as thinking him broken. 

Malcolm’s fingers trail up her thighs, slipping under his shirt he traces the edges of lace and back down her thighs again as she ghosts her lips over his. He meets her question, tasting of licorice as he deepens their kiss, his reluctance ebbing as she slowly begins to grind against him. She makes sure to keep her weight off him, keep balanced on her knees even as her breaths turn shuddering from his touch. 

Malcolm’s need is easy to feel through his soft sleeping pants, the blush staining his cheeks when it’s obvious Dani can feel its press even easier. Dani slips her hands lower, releasing her grip on the headboard, sliding from where it’d cupped the back of his head, her hands as deft as her mouth. 

It’s been so long but the last time had been nothing like this, it had been against the wall, all _want_ without the acknowledgement of _need_ , a bruising rhythm meant to keep them both hurt just enough the other wouldn’t dare press for more. 

Dani keeps it slow but Malcolm’s instinctual thrust is arrested by agony, pain etching his features as his breath hitches but years of experience has him tucking it away, shuddering breaths panted against Dani’s collar bone as he collects himself. 

She expects an apology, her mind frantic as it tries to come up with a response that won’t make him feel worse, that won’t make this seem like the hateful words that were spit at them were true, for anything that would reassure him. She doesn’t expect to feel his lips trailing kisses up her neck, nipping her jaw until she tilts her head down so he can reclaim her lips. 

Malcolm leans back, blue eyes studying her features but he’s not profiling her, there’s such love and awe in those blue eyes, things Dani never believed would be found in her. Malcolm presses another soft, questioning kiss to her lips, his fingers tightening on her hips at the same time and it’s those powerful hands that hold her up, move her, spasming briefly when she tilts her head back and pants his name, pleasure coursing through her. The feel of her sated in his hands, limbs loose with ecstasy brings his own release, gripping so tight he’s sure there will be bruises. 

She hums her pleasure, dropping one last kiss to his lips before she carefully pulls from his grip. Once they’re both clean, Dani tucks herself into his side, his fingers inching up his shirt she’s still wearing.

“Round two?” The words are soft, amused and wanting. 

“I’m sorry.” Malcolm’s fingers ghost over the bruises already starting to form on her hip, without even looking he’s certain there’s a matching set on the other side. Dani cranes her neck, noting the marks.

“It wasn’t intentional.” She shrugs. “We’ll get better with practice.” She arches a suggestive eyebrow at him and while she sees he’s still bothered by what he’s done, he doesn’t pull away from here.

As she’d done every night since he’d nearly fallen down the stairs trying to chase after her, she looks into his beautiful blue eyes and says, “I love you, Malcolm.” 

“I love you, Dani.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really appreciate all that have read and stuck with this story. I hope you find this end to be fitting.
> 
> I would love to hear what you think!

**Author's Note:**

> So...the good news is that I have this basically completely written (that last chapter has a small bit missing)!  
> A weekly update schedule is in all readers futures.
> 
> As always, kudos, emojis, comments and random outbursts are appreciated and encouraged!


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